The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 626: Tranquility

The fourth piece of news was genuinely good.

In the central part of the Main Continent, the Ghoul plague had been contained at its point of origin—the town of Squinn. Local exorcists were searching for the source of the infection, and it was expected that the epidemic would be eradicated soon.

Such a visible, tangible anomalous plague was far easier to counteract than mysterious and enigmatic anomalies.

The fifth piece of news was not about anomalies: the influx of refugees into cities had rapidly swelled the populations of more than a dozen cities on the Main Continent to over a million people. Investigators were urging citizens to avoid excessive crowding, as it not only attracted the attention of anomalies but could also trigger disasters like epidemics.

Moreover, a shortage of resources—food, water—would kill them long before any anomaly could.

They recommended forming settlements the size of a village or small town, leaving one to three exorcists in each to handle simple anomalies and evil spirits.

It was never wise to put all your eggs in one basket.

This news had also been published in ordinary newspapers but found few supporters. People continued to blindly believe in the illusory safety of cities, considering the events in Ellen Royal City a coincidence.

At the end of the Investigator Weekly were the latest headlines.

[Ril'burg, Manolok Island, Kandergin, Port Mattesayalen, Vinnelag, and many other cities have lost contact; settlements around the Tronmans Swamp, the Sahe Highlands, Dellonas-Id, and many others have been attacked by anomalies][The Lennon Archipelago remains untouched by anomalies; following the events in Ellen Royal City, it has surpassed national capitals to become the most desirable place for relocation]

[A fleet that departed from the ice-free port of Vinnelag four days ago was caught in an anomalous whirlpool; they were lucky to leave the area before it expanded]

["Apocalypse Watch" program to merge with "Evil Spirit Watcher," mass production expected in three days]

[Professor Charles Heatley Pushkin of the Royal Academy of West Sing supports the call to disperse and advises moving from the interior to the coast or to regions with abundant food]

[The strange fog from the Allen Peninsula will soon envelop Himmfast]

Rustle~

Lu Li set the newspaper aside.

Jimmy, standing nearby, picked it up and headed toward Adamfuya's cabin, from which the sound of a saw was coming, so Remi could read it to him.

A call also came from the cave—Anna announced that breakfast was ready.

Sweet potatoes stewed with canned meat. The spices and sweet potatoes masked the taste of preservatives. Anna's culinary skills were improving at an astonishing rate.

"Bring the potatoes later, and cut them into cubes," Lu Li said as steam from the pot obscured Anna's puzzled expression. "We'll be staying here for a long time, so our supplies will dwindle. We need to grow edible crops."

Potatoes were the highest-yield crop and required little care.

In addition, Lu Li had asked Anna to bring a fishing net during her hunt. One of the advantages of the Elm Forest as a shelter was the abundance of fish in the sea.

After breakfast, Lu Li took the cut potatoes and knocked on the door of Jimmy and Remi's hut. Anna emerged from Adamfuya's cabin and reported that her brother had gone into the forest for firewood.

Ten minutes later, Jimmy returned to the clifftop with a severed tree trunk and a bundle of branches. Upon learning that Lu Li wanted to till the land, he loudly thumped his monstrous chest and took the task upon himself.

It didn't take long. The formidable claws of Jimmy's monstrous body were more effective than any plow. In ten minutes, he had tilled a ten-square-meter patch of land near the cave, chosen by Lu Li, and at his request, poked holes in the soft soil with his claws.

Lu Li tossed pieces of potato into the holes and covered them with earth. Before he could plant more than a few, Anna took the potatoes from his hands. Her invisible touch placed the tubers in the holes and buried them—the planting was finished in an instant.

"Do we need to bring water?" she asked, returning to Lu Li's side.

"Not for now."

The Elm Forest retained sufficient moisture. The last rain had been a week ago, but the soil was still damp.

Anna, as if remembering something, smiled as she met Lu Li's gaze. "I was just imagining you sitting in a rocking chair in the middle of a potato field..."

It would look especially strange if he were holding a newspaper or a book at the same time.

"That's not actually necessary," Lu Li replied.

Evidently, the closer plants were to Lu Li, the faster they grew. The farther away they were, the closer their growth was to normal, or it stopped altogether outside the range of his humanity's influence.

The plot was situated between Enni and the cave, so wherever Lu Li was, he could influence the seeds in the ground.

However, the one who cared most about the garden was neither Anna nor Lu Li, but Remi. Every half hour, she would lift the hem of her skirt and crouch at the edge of the field, as if her presence alone could hasten the appearance of sprouts.

Jimmy received a scolding from his sister for accidentally stepping on the edge of the plot and was now forced to walk around it to avoid her reprimands.

She didn't even allow the puppy or the children to get near it.

Remi even suggested building another cabin so she and her brother could move, leaving their current one for future residents.

"It's like my sister is trapped in a nightmare... or maybe this field is turning into a new anomaly!?" Jimmy whispered his complaint to Lu Li, who was reading by the entrance to the cave.

Lu Li glanced up at the "field." Remi was so anxious that she looked as if she were ready to dig up the soil just to see if the sprouts had appeared.

More than a desire to see the harvest, she was driven by a longing for her former peaceful life and a deep-seated fear of losing it.

In the afternoon, Anna returned from her hunt. Besides her catch, she brought a net and news about the Ghost Prison.

"There are a lot of fresh tracks on the beach, but what's strange is... the tracks left earlier have changed..." Anna frowned, searching for the right words. "They've curved, forming an arc."

Furthermore, even more oaks had been cut down along the coast.

The net Anna had brought was taken from a fishing boat in the harbor. It was far too large for Lu Li—a single cast could yield a catch that would last for years.

Obviously, fish wouldn't keep for long, and the gloomy sky with its perpetual clouds made it impossible to dry them.

Before they could start fishing, the net needed to be shortened, or they would have to abandon it altogether in favor of the traps that fishermen typically used.

As evening approached, the anomalous fog crept in from the sea. The residents of the Elm Forest took shelter in the cave, talking and reading by the light of an oil lamp, and as night fell, they dispersed to their homes.

The night was quiet, disturbed only by strange sounds drifting from the thick fog.

...

Faint light seeped into the cave from outside.

Lu Li woke up and turned his head toward Anna, who was "frozen" at her writing desk.

Shifting his gaze, he saw that the sprout in the pot was growing stronger, and in another pot, the soil had risen slightly, as if something was about to break through to the surface.

Lu Li was starting to get used to this welcome, long-lost tranquility.

The only new event on the clifftop was the Trader's visit every two or three days. The new developments on the Oak Grove coast could, perhaps, also be counted as such.